The Flyers continued their hot start to the season, downing the Capitals in overtime in a high-scoring 6-5 contest. Danny Briere was the hero in OT, netting the winner to keep the Flyers undefeated season going. Other studs on the night were Mike Richards, who had a hat trick in the second period, and Matt Carle, who had an NHL record-tying 4 assists for a defensemen in the 2nd period. The Flyers had some issues shutting down Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, who had 2 goals and an assist, but managed to slow him down just enough to keep the game close. New Flyers goalie Ray Emery played his worst game in net so far, stopping 31 of 36 shots, but he made the big saves late in the game when they mattered.
Following the exciting win, the Flyers did get some bad news on the injury front. According to Tim Panaccio on Twitter, newly signed forward Blair Betts, a face-off and penalty killing expert, separated his shoulder in the game and will be out for about a month. Losing Betts doesn't slow the team down too much although it will stretch the solid PK unit a little thinner.
Panaccio also reported one other injury that is a little scarier: Flyers phenom James van Riemsdyk may have suffered a concussion in tonight's game. Flyers fans have had enough experience with concussions to know the severity of them and for a kid like JVR to start down the concussion path at his age brings back bad memories of Eric Lindros and Simon Gagne. Let's hope JVR is all right and can continue his development this season.
Great overtime win by the Flyers tonight. They certainly gave fans everything they could ask for in their home opener. 82-0 is still a possibility!
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